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Transcripts
June 3, 2026
JOURNALIST: We've just been hearing this morning some concerns, obviously Senator Lambie, about transparency when it comes to AUKUS. We're about to have the people involved in the submarine program up. What are you hearing about that, so far on transparency?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Frankly I was very dissatisfied with the answers we got today from the Department of Defence and the ADF about really basic questions about how much, for example, the government is cutting from the Defence Budget over the Forward Estimates and the coming decade. They weren't able to explain for example the $5 billion of cuts over the next four years other than pointing to one capability out of 22 that will be cut or delayed or de-scoped. Frankly, Australians deserve more transparency on this for two reasons. One, it's a lot of money, and two, these are really consequential decisions in a really dangerous time and frankly the Albanese government has contempt for transparency when it comes to defence.
JOURNALIST: With the current One Nation polling, you sit in the Senate, we're going to have to see some different conversations taking place within the Coalition about how those Senate tickets look in the lead up to the next election. How do you feel about that relationship between the Liberal Party and the National Party in setting out those places, because at present it looks like all Nationals except for one will be wiped out in the next elections?
PATERSON: Look, it varies hugely state by state depending on the Coalition agreement in the state, what position the National Party is designated on the ticket. In some states it's two, in some states its number three, at different elections it's different positions. I imagine that will be negotiated in the normal way at the normal time and I'm not anticipating that will anything other than just a collegiate conversation with our coalition partner.
JOURNALIST: I just wanted to get your reaction on the Solomon's deal with Australia today. How much of a threat is China to regional stability in our region?
PATERSON: Well it's very welcome that so soon after he became Prime Minister the new Solomon's Prime Minister has come to Australia, has met with the Australian government and appears to have had a very constructive engagement. This is a real opportunity for Australia to reset our relationship with the Solomon Islands. They are a critical partner, they are part of our Pacific family and we wish the government all the best on this and we offer them unqualified bipartisan support. We want them to succeed.
JOURNALIST: Do you think the government is well placed to counter the strategic influence of China, the big money that's being thrown at many of these countries?
PATERSON: Look, I think we need to do more. I think we need do more about being honest, about the threats that we face. I think the government has reassured the public inadvertently about the nature of the challenges we face, and I think we have over stated how prepared we are. I think Australians should be shocked to know how ill prepared we are and we are still not spending enough on defence to meet that moment.
JOURNALIST: We have representatives from the submarine program up in Senate estimates shortly. What will you be hoping to gain from them and do you think there's any likelihood you'll get more answers from them than what you did this morning?
PATERSON: I certainly hope we get better answers than what we did this morning because effectively we got no answers at all when it comes to the Virginia-class submarines. The government can't have it both ways. They've been saying for the last three years the optimal pathway is to acquire two in-service and one new Virginia-class submarine and now they're saying actually all along we've preferred three in-service submarines and that's the optimal pathway. You can't have two optimal pathways, we need to get to the bottom of why this decision was made, when it was made and who made it.
JOURNALIST: Scott Morrison has given quotes to the Australian saying he's receptive of this change and that AUKUS is a dynamic program. Do you agree with that?
PATERSON: There absolutely are respectable arguments as to why you would want three of the same block, Virginia-class submarines coming to Australia that have been in service. The problem with the government is those arguments have always been the case. They're not new, it's not a new development. We have always known that it would be simpler to be managing one block of Virginia-class submarines rather than different ones, and we have always know that it was potentially cheaper to have an in-service submarine rather than a new one. But the government won't explain how much cheaper it will be. Officials have no answers at all about the specifics, despite the fact that the Defence Minister has claimed it would significantly cheaper. So, there are arguments as to why you would do it this way, but they haven't exactly explained that to the Australian public, and I think that's a problem.
JOURNALIST: Is there a reason why your government at the time didn't go down that pathway, if it was simpler and more efficient and made more sense to have them all in a block?
PATERSON: Well, the optimal pathway was actually chosen by this government, by the Albanese government in 2023. This is their plan, which they are now changing. Peter Dutton has said, when he was Opposition Leader, that his plan as Defence Minister was to acquire Virginia-class submarines. But the former government had yet not made a decision about which block of Virginia-class submarines they would acquire. Thanks, everyone.
ENDS